Leven Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger (Binghamton, U.S.A.): Two of the top performers on the ATP Challenger Tour this year squared off for the Binghamton title, as both top seed Kyle Edmund (24-7 in 2015) and second seed Bjorn Fratangelo (27-14) were in search of their second title. On the 10-year anniversary of countryman Andy Murray’s title, the 20-year-old Brit would come out on top 6-2, 6-3 in 66 minutes, firing seven aces while not facing a break point. At World No. 103 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Edmund inched closer to cracking the Top 100 for the first time. Earlier this year, he captured his maiden title in Hong Kong (d. Ito).

“These tournaments have very good (Emirates ATP Rankings) points and you’re able to make those jumps if you do well,” Edmund told USTA broadcaster Mike Cation following the match. “For me personally, I hadn’t played a lot of matches recently because I was injured. So it was more trying to get matches under my belt before a long summer tour. We’ve been working on my game on court and each day it’s getting better and better. Today it just clicked. I played great and happy I won it.

“You want to be at the (ATP World Tour) level, but these guys are good. Anyone can be anyone any day. It’s a credit to how close the players are in each level.”

In search of more hard-court matches, Edmund says he will play the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington, D.C., before trekking to the west coast for the ATP Challenger Tour tournaments in Aptos and Vancouver.

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

Kyle Edmund speaks to the media following his 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 defeat against Adrian Mannarino

Spoiler:

Q. What do you think went wrong there?KYLE EDMUND: I thought I just played quite inconsistently today. With the way I was constructing points, I didn't put enough pressure on him. Yeah, serve was quite inconsistent. Served well in patches and in patches it went off. Yeah, I thought I was always playing catch up a lot of the match. In the second and third set I broke him back, but you want to be breaking to go ahead in the match. It was a shame because I always felt I was playing catch up. I was disappointed coming off because I lost. I would have liked to have gone there and done a bit more. But you look at positives, I was definitely playing better this year on the grass. It's my last singles match. My level has gone up on the grass, but still lots more to improve on.Q. It's a bit different playing at Wimbledon the very first match of the tournament to a Davis Cup Final. Explain the difference in atmosphere and external pressure. KYLE EDMUND: Don't know. Yeah, it's just a different environment basically. Yeah, it's hard to explain. Both are big matches. You know, first round of a slam, especially Wimbledon, is a big match. Yeah, Davis Cup Final is. I don't know. The volume at Davis Cup is a lot louder. It's just different because one's indoors, one's outdoors, different surfaces. They're just different scenarios. Yeah, but at the end of the day, both you've got to go out there and put your game on court. It's the same for both players. Yeah, throughout the whole year you're playing in different scenarios, different environments all the time. You kind of get used to that, try to put your game on court whatever the surface or the environment.Q. Were you tight, nervous before you walked out on court?KYLE EDMUND: Not massively, no. Was looking forward to it. Just knew what I wanted to do. But, yeah, I mean, in the first question, I said I thought played quite inconsistently in a few departments. Just didn't serve consistently well. In patches it was good, but sometimes there were quite low percentages. Yeah, just wanted some momentum going. I got that going I thought the end of the second and stuff. It was a shame I couldn't have taken that to a tiebreaker or even win it. But, yeah, it's just disappointing, I think three straight sets. At the end of the day, this year is even better than last year with the way I played last year with my grass court tennis. Obviously it shows I need lots and lots of improvement if I want to get better.Q. If there was one thing in particular which you could rerun the last few hours, what would it be? What would you try to do differently?KYLE EDMUND: Probably the way I finished playing, just being a lot more aggressive and stuff at the start. I was a little bit tentative with the movement. I thought the ball was bouncing quite low. That's because of the fresh court. So, yeah, I thought I wasn't fully relaxed into it. But once I just started hitting the ball and adapting to the lowness of the court, then I felt a lot better. Yeah, it was difficult. At the same time, he's a tricky player. I think he likes that surface because of the way he hits the ball. He hits it very flat and low.Q. Were you surprised how well he played?KYLE EDMUND: Not particularly, no. Yeah, he's a good player. The way the ball was coming through at first, I thought I wasn't dealing with it as best as I can. But I got better.Q. What is your schedule for the next month or so?KYLE EDMUND: Well, I have doubles here, so I'll be still concentrating on the doubles. My next event will be Davis Cup, and then Toronto. So, yeah, as soon as Davis Cup is done, get on the hard, and Toronto, yeah.Q. You were saying a couple weeks ago that grass isn't your natural surface. In all probability, is it likely that your best results throughout your career will come away from here? Are your expectations a bit lower here than elsewhere?KYLE EDMUND: Maybe I could have some better results. I don't know. It's funny, because my best result on paper is on grass. It's just the way it works out. I mean, I feel more comfortable on other surfaces. It doesn't mean I can't play on this surface. I think it just means I've had less time on it. I've had more time on the other surfaces, so I feel more comfortable on those surfaces. In terms of the pressure, I think you know where you are on the surface, but at the same time you're a sportsman, and I'm competitive, so you could not put pressure on yourself, but I think you have that natural instinct you want to win. I don't think putting less pressure on yourself works because you just have that instinct to win. You always are disappointed when you lose.Q. Are you feeling all right? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I'm all right. Might be hayfever, but I'm all right.Q. Were you pleased to be first on court or is it sometimes a slightly thankless task to be the forerunner at this tournament?KYLE EDMUND: No, I think any time you just get on with it. It's the same throughout the year. You can be last on, fifth on, you can be first on. It's just the way it is. I mean, the grass is always fresher at the start of the tournament. But the grass isn't going to change from being first on day one to being third on day two. It's still very fresh. The surface will generally start to change probably around day three, day four when there's been lots of play on them. So for me, you know, it wouldn't have made a difference. The conditions would have been the same

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

With Wimbledon champion Andy Murray cheering him on from the sidelines, Kyle Edmund completed his heroics for Great Britain on Sunday by prevailing over Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5). Janko Tipsarevic prevailed in a dead rubber over James Ward, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

The #NextGen star Edmund dropped just seven games in defeating Tipsarevic in the first rubber on Friday. Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray clinched the second point for Great Britain with a four-set win on Saturday over Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic. Great Britain is now on a six-match win streak in Davis Cup and will play Argentina for a spot in the final.

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."